La fatica degli animali: bestie da soma nella Cappadocia ellenistico-romana

Abstract

The fame of Cappadocia as a region of origin of valuable race horses – destined for military purposes, imperial postal service, and ludi circenses – is well known; yet, according to a suggestive hypothesis, the region would have taken its name from the two Hittite terms hvaçpa-dakhin, “land of beautiful horses”. The present study dealts with a much lesser-known aspect, that is the presence in the region of beasts of burden, documented from the Hellenistic age to the Late Antiquity and used in transport of people and goods over long, medium and short distances, but also used to alleviate men’s efforts during agricultural activities, and intended for the production of milk, meat and textiles, for the transport of passengers and sick persons, for the imperial mail service.